SAN JOSE, Calif. — December 13, 2011 — SEMI, the global industry association
serving the manufacturing supply chain for the micro- and nano-electronics
industries, today reported that for the quarter ending September 30, 2011, the worldwide
photovoltaic manufacturing equipment book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.35, reaching
its lowest level since the start of the data collection in the first quarter of
2010. Worldwide billings declined 24
percent from the previous quarter to $1.6 billion. Worldwide bookings, which
represent net new orders of PV manufacturing equipment, extended the declining
trend started in the first quarter of 2011, tumbling another 70 percent for the
quarter.

The
deteriorating billings and bookings data underscores the overall softening in
the global PV industry. After aggressive capital equipment spending across the
entire supply chain that characterized 2010 and the early part of 2011, many PV
manufacturers have cancelled or put on hold their capacity expansion plans, as
challenging market conditions and poor visibility into market expectations continue
to overshadow the industry outlook into next year. The expectation is that
bookings will not significantly improve in the next six months without policy
adjustments in Europe, Japan and China, combined with easing of credit markets
and improved economic growth.

The
worldwide PV equipment billings and bookings data is gathered jointly with the
German Engineering Federation (VDMA) from about 50 global equipment companies
that provide data on a quarterly basis.

For more
information on equipment coverage, reporting categories, data collection
methodology, sample report, and how to subscribe, please visit www.semi.org/en/node/38716, or contact SEMI customer service at 1.877.746.7788 (toll free in the U.S.) or 1.408.943.6901 (International Callers).